XII: A Queen Needs Her Doomsday Bling

This is a feature excerpt from Unwinnable Monthly #198. If you like what you see, grab the magazine for less than ten dollars, or subscribe and get all future magazines for half price.

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The nation-state is legitimized by the artifacts and relics passed down by previous rulers. In Final Fantasy XII, Ashe desperately needs artifacts and relics of the Dynast King to prove her lineage and the right to inherit the throne of Dalmasca. These relics, magical stones called nethicite created by god-like entities called the Occuria, are not only symbols of sovereignty, they have destructive capabilities that enforce that authority. Power begets legitimacy; and Ashe of Dalmasca isn’t the only one vying for power in the world of Ivalice. The Archadian Empire with its own “relics” – flying dreadnoughts and synthetic nethicite – wants greater hegemony and put an end to the old order.

Similarly to his previous work (Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre) Yasumi Matsuno, the game’s initial lead, attempted to center XII on geopolitical struggle. Traces of this can be found in how a monarch’s claim over dominion of land, its people and laws are presented with nuance more commonly seen in high fantasy novels or a well-written international relations textbooks, a trademark of Matsuno’s work. Sadly, his departure from the project led to many of these nuances to be abandoned later in the story, leaving the narrative and plot uneven. Serious geopolitical insights fall by the wayside. Still, the core of the narrative – sovereign power legitimized by relics such as nethicite – remains a core part of the game’s story.

Ivalice is in a cold war so to speak, Archadia on one side and Rozarria on the other. All in between – the smaller kingdoms of Dalmasca and Nabradia – suffer what they must. Dalmasca along with Nabradia are being absorbed into the expanding Archadian empire pushing toward Rozarria’s borders. Led by Ashe, the only surviving member of Dalmasca’s royal family, a resistance takes up arms. The would-be queen must attain the nethicite and swords of her ancestor, the first great sovereign, the Dynast King Raithwall. Only then can she truly make a claim to the Dalmascan throne and rally a strong enough opposition to Archadian occupation.

Nethicite, whose original source is magicite, can be best understood in our context as a relic that grants two mutually reinforcing powers. The first is the ability to obliterate adversaries, not unlike a nuclear weapon. The second, is bestowing the divine right of sovereignty. Nethicite is the materialization of the divine right of kings. Raithwall is to Ivalice what Charlemagne was to our world. The Occuria found Raithwall worthy of being the terrestrial figurehead of a world order that they control. Raithwall obliged, was crowned, and Dalmasca prospered in turn. Nethicite in the form of the Dusk, Dawn and Midlight Shards were given to Raithwall by the Occuria, as a means of solidifying their control over hume (human) affairs. Ashe unwillingly falls within the Occurian scheme now jeopardized by Archadian ambitions.

The mismatch of XII’s story threads, and character motivations, and geopolitical maneuverings are spurred by the conservative insurgency led by Ashe and the Marquis Halim Ondore IV (Head minster of the skycity, Bhujerba) against the radical ambitions of Archadia. One side, Ashe’s insurgency for Dalmascan independence is being manipulated by the Occuria for much of the story, something that they can do because of their control nethicite. Though Ashe wants vengeance, the Occuria want her to crush Archadia and return the world to an old order where they reigned from their spectral thrones. In return Ashe will be crowned the Dynast Queen. The other side, the Archadians, seek to break away from Occurian dominion over the affairs of hume-kind through the manufacturing of synthetic nethicite (referred in game as “manufacted” nethicite). As Vayne Carudas Solidor says “Man will keep his own history! The tyranny of the gods is ended! We are their puppets no more! The freedom for which we have longed is at hand!” What this means for the other races of Ivalice is unclear. What is clear is that both Ashe and Archadia need nethicite to keep up the war effort and rally populations around their cause.

Nethicite is Ivalice’s version of the crown jewels, with the added function of being a source of our world’s equivalent of atomic energy, thus making them de facto nuclear weapons. Their enormous power is not only symbolic, but also materially lethal as weapons of war and as feel for machines.

The nethicite given to Raithwall by the Occuria are the crown jewels of the sovereign. (The Occuria gave Raithwall nethicite carved out of the Sun-Cryst and is referred to in-game as “deifacted nethicite”). Just like in our world, these relics are more than just expensive symbols worn and adorned for mere projections of power. Their acquisition tells a story. Take for example a crown, when worn a crown is meant to dazzle and awe the nation’s subjects. Each of its jewels amplifies the monarch’s power. The emerald was taken by the might of her majesty’s army in a far-off war for conquest. The ruby was a gift from a most important vassal in the Southern territories, speaks to the reverence others have for the throne. The diamonds are the spoils from sacking a once feared adversary and demonstrates the might of empire. The crown’s frame, made of gold, was purchased by the kingdom’s prosperity. At least this is the projection, the narrative, this relic is supposed to metastasize the myth of the nation.

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Luis Aguasvivas is a writer, researcher, and member of the New York Videogame Critics Circle. Follow him on Bluesky and aguaspoints.com.